


It's Okay, Billy

by teej_318



Category: Shazam! (2019)
Genre: Billy Batson just needs a hug, Billy's birthday, Boys Hugging, Caring Freddy Freeman, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Freddy Freeman, Sad Billy Batson, Soft Billy Batson, Soft Freddy Freeman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-28 13:42:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20967503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teej_318/pseuds/teej_318
Summary: It's Billy Batson's birthday, but Billy doesn't want to draw attention to it. And he feels overwhelmed when his foster family goes above and beyond to celebrate.





	It's Okay, Billy

"All right, everyone, tomorrow is someone's birthday," said Rosa in a playful tone.

The kids all glanced at Billy, who was the only one whose birthday nobody knew. Billy's face reddened and he looked down at his plate as if he were embarrassed. 

"So you all know what that means: we get to celebrate Billy's birthday tomorrow as a family!" said Rosa. "Billy, where would you like to go for your birthday?"

"What?" Bill asked, frowning.

"It's your birthday, mijo! We always take the kids out somewhere when it's their birthday! So, just name the place and we'll make a reservation!"

Billy glanced at his foster siblings, who were staring back at him with various degrees of apprehension of their faces. They all seemed to want to tell Billy where he should choose to eat, but were willing to let him decide. Billy locked eyes with Freddy, who grinned at him.

"Um, do we have to go somewhere?" Billy asked.

"It can be anywhere, mijo," Rosa said.

"But do we have to go out somewhere?" Billy repeated, frowning at Rosa, who now looked confused.

"Are you saying you just want to stay home, Billy?" asked Victor, who seemed to pick up on Billy's demeanor better than Rosa.

Billy nodded.

"I'd rather just stay in. We don't have to make a big deal out of it. It's just my birthday."

"Well, we can do whatever you want, Billy. But are you sure you don't want to go somewhere? Your birthday is just once a year."

"Yeah, I'm sure, Rosa. And you can cook whatever. I don't really have a preference."

Rosa shrugged.

"All right, Billy, we can do that."

* * *

Billy glanced up from the book he was reading at his desk when he heard the familiar tapping that meant Freddy was walking into their room. He grinned at his foster brother, who sat down on the bed with a confused look on his face.

"You okay, Billy?" Freddy asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. I guess I've just never seen anyone else not request to go somewhere for their birthday. We always go to cool restaurants on everyone's birthdays. I guess I'm just surprised that you just wanna stay home." 

Billy shrugged.

"It's just my birthday," he said nonchalantly.

"You know you said that earlier too and that kinda surprised me too."

"Why?"

"Come on, dude. It's your birthday! You know, we're celebrating the day you came into the world. It's a special occasion!"

Billy sighed and put down the book he was reading.

"Yeah I guess so, but I've never really celebrated my birthday. Ever since I got lost, I never told anybody when my birthday was because I kept getting moved around. And every time I did stay with someone for a while, I never celebrated it. It never seemed important."

Freddy's face softened at this. When he spoke, it was in a gentle tone.

"I'm sorry about that, Billy."

Billy shrugged again.

"It's no big deal, Freddy. It's just another day to me."

"You know you don't have to worry about any of that happening here, right?" Freddy asked, staring at Billy with a heavy heart. "We won't ever forget your birthday or forget to celebrate it."

"I know, but I just don't wanna make a big deal out of it," said Billy. "I know that's weird, but I've never been one for celebrating my birthday."

"Well maybe now you can," Freddy said, grinning at Billy.

"As long as Victor and Rosa don't go overboard. Then sure maybe I'll get used to celebrating my birthday."

"You're gonna love it, Billy! They go all out on birthdays. You won't forget it."

Billy grinned at Freddy, but on the inside, he couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. He knew Victor and Rosa had the best intentions and didn't mind throwing him a party for his birthday, but he didn't feel like he deserved it. Billy shrugged off these thoughts, hoping that maybe he could just enjoy his birthday for once.

* * *

The next day Billy came down the stairs and found everyone waiting for him in the kitchen. They had either stayed up late or gotten up early that morning to set up the dining room for Billy's birthday. There was a "Happy Birthday, Billy!" streamer hanging above the kitchen table, a large cake with 15 candles on it and a rather large pile of presents sitting behind the cake. 

Everyone turned around when they realized that Billy had come downstairs and they all shouted, "Happy Birthday!" and started clapping and whooping loudly. 

Billy grinned sheepishly at all of them.

"You didn't have to do all this for me," he said quietly, the guilty feeling starting to creep up inside him again. 

"Oh, come on, Billy, it's your birthday!" Mary exclaimed.

"Yeah, don't be a party pooper for your own party!" added Darla.

"Darla..." said Victor in a stern voice, which made everybody laugh.

"Happy Birthday, mijo," Rosa said, gesturing to the chair in front of the birthday cake.

Billy took his seat, his face blushing red from all of the feelings he was having in this moment. Once he was in his seat, everyone started singing ``Happy Birthday'' to him. Everyone was singing in a different tone, with Freddy being the most loud and obnoxious and causing Billy to giggle.

"Make a wish, son," Victor said once everyone had stopped singing.

Billy closed his eyes for a moment, but couldn't think of anything to wish for, so he just opened his eyes again and blew out the candles. His foster family cheered loudly and Victor picked up the cake to take it into the kitchen and start cutting slices for everyone to eat. Meanwhile, Rosa walked over to the pile of presents and grabbed what appeared to be the largest one and slid it forward to Billy. 

"This is for you, mijo, from me and Victor," Rosa explained. "It's a little something that will make your home life and school life a little easier."

"You didn't have to get me anything," Billy murmured under his breath as he started to tear the wrapping paper. 

It took Billy several moments to get the present unwrapped. When he was finally done, his eyes widened in shock as he saw a box for a brand new laptop. Billy stared up at Rosa, who was beaming at him.

"Do you like it, Billy?" Rosa asked, who sounded so happy.

Billy tried to answer, but found a lump lodged in his throat. He glanced around at everyone else, who were all smiling at him, and suddenly he realized he didn't feel the same. Instead, the intense feeling of guilt had returned in full force, and Billy felt like he was going to be sick. Tears welled in his eyes, and Billy leaned back in his chair for a moment, trying to calm himself down.

Rosa frowned when she noticed Billy's face.

"Mijo? Are you all right? Is it not the laptop you wanted?"

Billy cupped his hand to his face just as he started to cry. It was becoming too much. Finally, he stood up.

"I'm sorry," he said in a shaky voice as he ran out of the dining room.

Billy didn't turn around as everyone started calling his name. Instead, he just ran out of the room and back up the stairs. Everyone was kept calling his name until they heard a door close upstairs. 

"What's wrong with him?" Eugene asked, sounding slightly amused.

"Is he mad at us?" Darla asked.

"No, he's not mad, Darla," Mary said quickly. "I think he's just overwhelmed.

"Maybe he didn't want that laptop?" Pedro suggested.

"I've never had a kid cry on their birthday," Victor observed. "This is uncharted territory."

"What did I do?" asked Rosa.

Suddenly, Freddy stood up, grabbing his cane.

"I'll go talk to him," he said when he saw that everyone's eyes had turned to him. "He's okay, everyone. He's just not used to having a proper birthday. Let me go talk to him. Alone," he added when he saw Darla try to detach herself from the dining table too. "He just needs a minute."

Everyone nodded at Freddy, who hurried out of the dining room as fast as he could and up the stairs. Once he was outside his and Billy's room, Freddy paused to catch his breath. Once his breathing returned to normal, Freddy knocked lightly on the door.

"Billy? Can I come in?"

Freddy got no answer so he opened the door slowly. When he didn't get a protest, Freddy inched his way inside and shut the door behind him. Billy was sitting on Freddy's bed with his hands buried in his face. He was sobbing. Freddy hurried across the room, tossed aside his cane and plopped down next to Billy on his bed.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong, Billy?" Freddy demanded.

But Billy didn't answer. Instead, he just kept crying. Freddy reached over and wrapped his arm around Billy, who melted into his embrace. Billy buried his face into Freddy's chest and sobbed while Freddy held onto Billy and whispered words of comfort into his ears. It took several minutes for Billy to calm down and once he finally did, Freddy gently helped Billy sit back up properly.

"What's wrong, Billy?" Freddy asked in his most gentle voice.

"It's stupid," Billy insisted.

"Hey, your feelings are _ not _ stupid, Billy. You're allowed to feel however you feel, okay? And you can be honest with me. You know I'm not gonna judge you."

Billy took several deep breaths before he nodded.

"I just feel bad that you all did so much for me when I don't deserve it," Billy admitted, looking ashamed of himself. "I haven't done anything to get so much for my birthday."

"What are you talking about, Billy?" Freddy asked incredulously. "You think you have to _ earn _ your birthday presents?"

"I've never been given anything for free like that," said Billy. "Everything has always come with a price." 

Freddy's face softened.

"Oh, Billy. I'm so sorry you've had that happen in the past. But this isn't like that. It's your birthday, Billy. You're allowed to enjoy your gifts and not think you owe us anything. It's okay, Billy."

"Did you ever get a freaking laptop for your birthday?"

"Actually, yes," Freddy said with a grin. "That's pretty much the standard first birthday gift around here. I didn't tell you cause it was supposed to be a surprise."

"I'm sorry," Billy said in a small voice.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, Billy," Freddy insisted. "We're your family and we love you. We just want you to feel safe and enjoy your birthday."

Billy gulped.

"Um, I don't think I can go back downstairs just yet. Can you stay with me?"

"Of course I can," Freddy said as he hugged Billy again. Billy once again melted into his embrace, but he wasn't crying this time. He just seemed relieved that Freddy was there and wasn't judging him for how he felt.

"Hey, Billy?"

"Yeah?"

"Happy Birthday," Freddy said, giving Billy a tight squeeze in their embrace.

"Thanks, Freddy," Billy replied, holding Freddy just as tightly.

**Author's Note:**

> I was going through Shazam! pins on Pinterest when this little gem fell into my head. I miss this movie; it's definitely going on the top of my Christmas list!
> 
> Come yell at/follow me on Tumblr: [@wackywriterwhowriteswhenever](http://wackywriterwhowriteswhenever.tumblr.com)
> 
> You can also follow me [on Twitter](http://twitter.com/_tj_rigg) but just know that I'm super political on there, so don't follow me if you don't like politics.


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